Ceasefire deal under pressure as Israeli PM orders strikes on Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered strikes on Gaza after accusing Hamas of violating the ceasefire deal by firing on Israeli troops and deliberately delaying the return of deceased hostages.

Hamas has reacted to the strike order by saying it would delay the return of a hostage body it found in Gaza which was scheduled to be handed over to the Israeli military by 8:00pm local time on Tuesday.

In a statement released by the group, it blamed "violations of the ceasefire agreement by the occupation".  

According to Netanyahu's office, the order came after a meeting was held in Tuesday to address "Hamas repeated violation" of the ceasefire deal. 

In a video published by the Israeli Defence Forces on its X account, it accused Hamas of lying about the location of the deceased hostages. 

"Yesterday, Hamas terrorists were filmed removing body remains from a prepared structure and re-burying them nearby, before summoning Red Cross representatives to stage a false “discovery” for photographers." the post said.

Hamas had repeatedly said that recovery of all the deceased hostages would be difficult, due to being buried under the rubble in the Gaza strip. 

Teams from Egypt and the Red Cross personnel had been allowed to enter Gaza to search for bodies of the hostages on Sunday, with Israeli media later reporting that Hamas members were also allowed to aid the search. 

On Monday night, the body of one hostage was handed over to the Israeli Military by the Red Cross and is currently undergoing forensic idenification procedures. 

This new development puts a strain on the fragile ceasefire deal brokered by the Trump led U.S. administration as both sides accuse each other of violating the terms of the deal. 

Just last week, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and President Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner were in Israel to shore up the ceasefire deal and to set out plans for the seond phase of the deal.

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